And now...the run....

[User395221]

Woohoo, chicken party! Good girls.

 

[TerryH]

I forgot to say that the first one on the ground was not Laverne but our little sick baby #7. We are so glad that she pulled through and is apparently the adventurous one after all.

 

[TerryH]

Continuing to refine and finish all the little details on the run. I worked on door stops and fillers this evening along with the landscape timbers on the south side. My goal was to close up every gap to 1/4" or less. Easier said than done with everything made from this warp prone treated lumber. :/

I find it interesting and really funny that the babies are so used to construction that they don't even bat an eye at the impact powering in screws or even the chainsaw running right outside the run. Also interesting how quickly they went from super tentative to literally charging out the door as soon as it opens.

Got the front door finished out first.



Thought I'd show some details on the rear door. I made this door 48" wide so my dump trailer that I pull with my lawn mower would fit through. Should make getting the ground tree material in and the eventual compost out much easier. To aid in that I made a lower 2x6 panel under the door removable using 4 barrel bolts. I put the 2x6 under the door so I could open the door with a good amount of litter in the run.







Finishing the landscape timbers on the south side was next. The timbers fill the space below the coop and finish out and help secure the apron on the run. They are pinned down with 12" landscape spikes that go through the wire apron. Pretty cool that you can barely see the 24" apron that was just laid on top of the grass last Saturday.



I cut the timbers into short pieces so they would follow the contour of the ground better. they still don't fit great but good enough I suppose.



I cut the timbers in front of the door so they would be easily removable for trailer access.



You can see the 1x2 welded wire apron better in the corner where the grass hasn't grown back in yet from the construction.



I also put a HN water bucket in the run. It was a super popular spot.



All I have left is to finish the apron on the west end and a little mulch and tidying up. Tomorrow I will be done!!!

 

[Finnie]

I really like all the thoughtful details you put into everything.

It will probably seem weird to you to be finished!

And look how big those pullets have gotten! How may weeks are they again? Seems like just yesterday they were under their MHP.

 

[TerryH]

I really like all the thoughtful details you put into everything.

It will probably seem weird to you to be finished!

And look how big those pullets have gotten!  How may weeks are they again?  Seems like just yesterday they were under their MHP. 

Thank you Finnie!! I've enjoyed the planning and building very much. It will be weird to be done but there are plenty of other things on my to do list. The babies are growing like crazy. They are 8 weeks old. It does seem like only yesterday that they were little fluff balls.

 

[aart]

Nice stuff!

 

[TerryH]

Nice stuff!

Thank you!

 

[Molpet]

Very nice looking and well built

 

[TerryH]

Very nice looking and well built 

Thank you!!

 

[TerryH]

Got an early start today with finishing the run. Did the apron and landscape timbers on the west end first.





I cut the bottom of the gate by the storage building so it would clear the timbers and made a kick stand style gate holder opener like I have on some other doors. Super simple and handy. Basically it's 3 pieces of wood, more fence pickets in this case, and a hinge and small barrel bolt.







Installed some latches on the doors that can be operated from both sides to make access easier even though I will still rely on the big barrel bolts and pad locks for security.



I repurposed some concrete tree rings that have been sitting around for a long time into a mac daddy dust bath. Couple of bags of topsoil, some sand and a little DE. Clueless if they will actually use it but I like it. I also made a little perch for them from a couple of chunks of firewood and a landscape timber. I'm going remake it with a tree limb but for now it'll do.



All that was left was to re-mulch the front and tidy up all around. What a massive project the coop and run have been! I've enjoyed the process but I'm glad that it is done. The babies love the run. Today was the first time they've had access from early morning. They've been in and out a zillion times. Running, flying, chasing bugs, playing keep away with little pieces of egg shells from the table scrap pile and on and on. They seem very happy.











And that, my friends, is a wrap.